Sudden infant death syndrome

Abstract

The sudden death of infants younger than one year is known as SIDS. It is a major cause of mortality among infants less than one year of age. There is little focus in the literature on sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Thus, this review aims to provide new insights on the incidence, risk factors and prevention of SIDS in infants. Following preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, this review explored eligible articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, and research gate databases. Several keywords were used for the search to obtain all possible related articles. The inclusion criteria were reviews and original articles focused on the current subject and written in English. The eligible articles used to compile this review were published between 2007 and 2021. Three main titles were discussed in this review: incidence, risk factors, and prevention. SIDS is the most common reason for death among infants aged less than one year. There is great variation in the global incidence of SIDS. Factors related to the sleeping environment are the major risk factors for SIDS and should be the focus. Hence, following the recommendations of the American academy of pediatrics can reduce incidence of SIDS.